SaaS is so much more than a Software Delivery Model and to reach success it is critical for SaaS Vendors to understand that fact. In my upcoming Sandhill.com article you will read that we should be thinking more like Service Companies than Legacy Software Companies. With that in mind, it is time to start changing the language we use when talking about SaaS Vendors.
One thing we at Sixteen Ventures have done is to drop the term "SaaS ISV" (where ISV = Independent Software Vendor) from our vocabulary. Instead of ISV, we use SaaS Vendor, Provider, Company, Firm, etc. The goal is to trigger a mindset shift in those we talk to away from "software" and more toward SaaS as a stand-alone, viable Business Architecture.
Additional rationale for dropping ISV from our vocabulary includes:
- SaaS Products often grow out of non-software companies and therefore the term is simply wrong. We along with our ecosystem partners like Keychain Logic believe that SaaS will consist of 20% apps that have a background in legacy software and 80% from those who productize their expertise, internal workflow, IP, etc. Those specialized applications that you will never hear about unless you are in the niche they serve. These are not "software companies" and never were.
- SaaS Vendors should recognize and execute on core competency and leverage the Ecosystem for the rest. This makes the "I" in ISV invalid.
- ISV is just a relic of a Legacy Software mindset. Read the Wikipedia entry for the term and explain to me how it has any relevance to SaaS Providers?
SaaS has come into its own and it is time to move beyond the "legacy terms" that carried over from the on-premises software days.
Author: Lincoln Murphy